Category Archives: Fisheries

On 21 August 2017, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Department of Water Resources (DWR) over the inadequacy of its 80,000 plus page Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the WaterFix … Continue reading →

On 27 July 2017, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, joined by the California Water Impact Network and AquAlliance, filed a motion for summary judgment in our pattern and practice and public trust lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board. … Continue reading →

The Delta Stewardship Council is in the process of revising the Delta Plan and related environmental documents following the successful litigation by CSPA and others in vacating the previous Plan. Unfortunately, the Council is again ignoring the strict requirements for … Continue reading →

The Trump Administration has appointed David Bernhardt as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior. Mr. Bernhardt was a former Interior Solicitor and has been a lobbyist for Westlands Water District. He is a registered lobbyist for Westlands and a … Continue reading →

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance et al. (CSPA, CWIN and AquAlliance) joined the County of San Joaquin and Local Agencies of the North Delta in submitting rebuttal testimony in Part I of the State Water Resource Control Board’s (SWRCB) evidentiary … Continue reading →

CSPA has joined with more than seventy-five other organizations from around the nation to oppose the Commercial Vessel Incidental Discharge Act that would expose our nation’s water to the spread of invasive aquatic species discharged by foreign shipping vessels. The … Continue reading →

CSPA is a formal protestant and party of record in the continuing battle over the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s (USBR) scheme to construct twin tunnels to divert the Sacramento River under the Delta to … Continue reading →

The California Striped Bass Association has published an online petition asking the California Fish and Game Commission (DFG) not to pass proposed regulatory changes that would decimate striped bass and black bass populations. The regulations would allow anglers to keep … Continue reading →

Before the 2012-2015 drought, Delta smelt had a recovery period in 2010 and 2011. Now, in 2016, there remains an opportunity for some form of recovery, albeit small. What is needed is exactly what the US Fish and Wildlife Service … Continue reading →

Many San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts can’t get past the refrain on the broken record that controlling striped bass and black bass will save salmon and steelhead. They’ll do anything to avoid releasing more water from reservoirs; in many cases, … Continue reading →

CSPA’s fisheries biologist Tom Cannon gave a presentation entitled “Contributing Cause of Smelt Decline: Water Exports” at a symposium on March 29, 2016 at UC Davis. The theme of the conference, sponsored by the Delta Stewardship Council, was: “Delta and … Continue reading →

On 5 January 2016, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) filed a formal protest of the WaterFix Project petition to change the point of diversion for the State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) WaterFix Project that was … Continue reading →

On 24 November 2015, CSPA joined Friends of the River, Restore the Delta and the Environmental Water Caucus in sending a letter to the State Water Resources Control Board regarding the hearing process with respect to the petition by the … Continue reading →

On October 30, 2015 the public comment period for the Recirculated Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS for Bay Delta Conservation Plan/California WaterFix (RDEIR/SDEIS) ended. CSPA submitted comments with CWIN and AquAlliance, and in a separate effort worked closely with the Environmental … Continue reading →

On October 9, 2015, CSPA and a broad coalition of environmental, fishing, and tribal groups secured a victory for fisheries in the long fight against suction dredging with the signing of Senate Bill 637. The new law requires that all … Continue reading →

On 16 September 2015, attorneys for CSPA, CWIN and AquAlliance filed an amended lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief invalidating the SWRCB’s pattern and practice policy of weakening water quality protection standards … Continue reading →

Since 2006, one of CSPA’s primary areas of effort has been to reintroduce salmon to historic habitat upstream of major Central Valley dams. Today, Central Valley salmon are confined to the valley floor: 5-10% of their historic habitat. In the … Continue reading →

On 10 August 2015, CSPA, the Otter Project, Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water and an elderly woman who was deprived of drinking water because of agricultural pollution prevailed in an important … Continue reading →